


For Your Love

by Sincerelywithlove



Category: One Direction (Band), X Factor RPF
Genre: Fate, Fluff, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Singing, midnight memories
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-19
Updated: 2013-11-19
Packaged: 2018-01-02 01:06:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1050689
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sincerelywithlove/pseuds/Sincerelywithlove
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The day that Louis decides they should apply for the 2013 season of X Factor they're holed up in Louis' flat and Harry decides that Louis has just about lost his mind.</p>
            </blockquote>





	For Your Love

**Author's Note:**

> Unedited just forgive it. (thatkaitykid.tumblr.com)

The day that Louis decides they should apply for the 2013 season of X Factor they're holed up in Louis' flat and Harry decides that Louis has just about lost his mind.

"Lou, all of that band stuff was years ago. I haven't performed since year ten and we've never performed together. Plus, don't you think it's time to revise?" Harry sighs, huffing out a breath over his steaming -- Louis never seems to remember to take the kettle off the burner -- tea. His fingertips burn a little from where they're tapping at the ceramic of his mug. 

Waving a hand about as he plops down into the seat across from Harry, Louis grins widely, "Come on, Harry. It'll just be one day spent in the queue. Help me mark something off my bucket list."

"Bucket list?" Harry repeats, leveling Louis with an incredulous look. "For one, you're not dying and two, why is auditioning for the X Factor on your bucket list?" he pulls at a loose thread in his sweater sleeve and tilts his head. 

"Everyone's dying, Harry. Every second of every day, you're one step closer to the grave. You've practically got one foot in the grave already, babe," Louis shrugs his shoulders and pushes a bit of his fringe off of his forehead before scratching at the speckling of scruff along his jaw. " _And,_ yes. That's on my bucket list. It has been since I was eighteen, come on. Please, Harry. Please," he pouts, reaching across the table to pull Harry's larger hands into his own. 

Harry lets Louis pout for a few moments before letting out a heavy breath, "Fine. I'm ready to be humiliated just for you."

A moment later, Louis pushes up off his chair and leans across the table to press a kiss to Harry's lips. "You won't humiliate yourself. It'll be a great day for us," he says quietly and it sounds soft, like a promise, like it might mean more than the words themselves.

So, Harry lets Louis sort through songs on their Itunes accounts and coach him through which parts he thinks that Harry should sing, where they should harmonize. It seems a little more and more like Louis knew which song he was going to pick for them as they practice in Louis' living room. The days creep passed them slowly, counting down to the day that they will perform in front of the real judges panel, if they're lucky. Harry's nerves dissipate as he commits the lyrics to memory and Louis' nerves seem to grow. 

The day before the audition, Louis isn't anywhere around Harry's flat when he wakes up, the normal scent of freshly made tea, absent, and Harry's sure that Louis was huddled into his chest the night before. Then, throughout the day, Louis doesn't answer his phone, just lets it ring until his voicemail clicks on. For the first few hours, Harry chalks Louis' absence up to Louis just being busy, nervous, and even on one particularly imaginative train of thought, Harry had detailed the possible kidnapping of Louis. For a few minutes after that thought, Harry had to convince himself not to call the police because Louis was probably fine.

As the day ticks away, Harry forces himself to practice his parts of their song, walking through his different stance positions as if Louis were there singing with him. He makes dinner for the two of them and waits at the table, counting the seconds that pass by as their meals grow cold and Louis doesn't come through his front door. Scrubbing a hand through his curls, Harry places their plates inside his fridge and tries calling Louis' phone once more. When Louis doesn't answer, Harry takes a bath and climbs into his bed alone. 

Frustration curls in his lungs as he stares at the ceiling above him, glaring at the little holes where Louis had tried to hang a picture of himself for Harry to look at while he slept. He's glad that he didn't let Louis keep the photograph there now, that he doesn't have to stare at Louis' stupidly grinning face when he doesn't have the real thing sleeping next to him. Kicking Louis' designated pillow off of the bed and turning away from the empty side of the bed, Harry tries to force himself to sleep.

The dreams don't come easily and the nightmares that fill his hours are brimming with Louis breaking up with him, never coming back to him, and even eloping with the barista from their local coffee shop, Eleanor.

Harry wakes to an empty bed with his alarm going off -- _wake up, it's humiliation day_ \-- and a bitter taste in his mouth that isn't just morning breath. His stomach growls painfully with neglect as he forces himself out of bed, his bare toes curling against the cold flooring. Taking a little walk around his flat, he checks to see if there might be any sign of Louis' return. There isn't, no misplaced shoes by the door, no haphazardly discarded coats or scarves draped over his furniture, and the food he saved is still untouched in the fridge. 

With a frustrated breath, Harry gets dressed for their audition anyway. He won't go if Louis doesn't appear, of course, but Harry still hopes that Louis will. If Louis doesn't, Harry hopes that they won't be in contact any time soon, figuring that Louis' disappearance can only be explained by the idea that Louis doesn't have the heart to break up with him to his face. Struggling a little, he pulls on the black skinny jeans that Louis had picked out for him before as well as a white t-shirt, his black blazer and lastly, Louis' blue beanie. It isn't too cold outside but he knows that if he doesn't cover his curls, he's going to rake his fingers through them until they're just a mass of twists and bird's nests. 

"Come on, Lou," Harry holds his phone to his ear once more and counts as it rings once, twice three times and--

" _It's Louis. Sorry, I couldn't answer. Try again, later. Bye!"_ before the door to Harry's flat opens and a very fidgety Louis emerges with his hands stuffed deep into the pockets of his skinny blue jeans. The tiny grin that lifts his lips is tight and apologetic, tired like the way his fringe is flopped back and away from his face. He looks nice though, cleanly dressed up. Harry hates him for a moment. "Sorry, I had to get a few things taken care of before we left for the audition," he explains as Harry lets his cell phone drop onto the kitchen table.

There's a little more than exasperation boiling under Harry's skin as he shakes his head. "Are we still doing this or what, Louis?" he tries to keep his tone level but the irritation slips through and he bites the inside of his cheek.

Louis looks a little surprised by the tone, slipping his hands out of his pockets to reach out to Harry, "Of course. I'm sorry, my phone died and I forgot to charge it. You know how forgetful I am, Harry." He wraps his fingers around Harry's wrist and squeezes a little, feeling the nervous pulse under the tips. "Hey... Great day for us, remember?" he says quietly, waiting for Harry's green eyes to meet his blue. 

Pulling his hand away, Harry just shakes his head again and pushes passed Louis. He steps into the hallway and Louis follows quietly, using his own key to lock the door to Harry's flat before they make their way down to Louis' car. 

"Harry," Louis tries again, opening the passenger door to let Harry climb in before getting into the driver's seat. "Look, I'm sorry," he offers, turning the key in the ignition and beginning the drive toward the Manchester auditions.

"Sorry," Harry repeats with a dry laugh, tugging one of his legs underneath himself. He leans over the center console to turn up the low hum of the radio. If he means to drown out Louis' excuses then, it's a poor attempt. "Where were you."

A long few seconds pass as Harry glares out the window and Louis grips the steering wheel. The band on the radio plays on, Harry grins with tight lips and an exasperated huff, and Louis just keeps right on staying silent.

"Right," Harry crosses his arms over his chest. "I'm a big kid, Louis. If you're leading this up to some sort of break up, or a _break,_ for fuck's sake then just say it. Was this what you wanted to cross off your bucket list? Break up with Harry in front of the entire country?" he's being dramatic and he knows it, but  _still._ He's irritated and at least a little bit, rightfully so.  

The expression that crosses Louis' face is a little bit hurt, confused, angry, and  _oh_ , he's exasperated too. "What are you on about?" Louis' eyebrows knit together as he lifts a hand to tug at the lapel of his cream colored blazer. 

"Just take me home, Louis," Harry snaps, bodily turning away from Louis as much as he can under the restraints of his seatbelt. 

"Stop acting like a child," Louis breathes and the words sound tired again, like maybe he didn't imagine this morning going this way either. "Great day. It's going to be a great day, Harry," he repeats eventually, his tone softer as they near the Manchester audition arena where a queue has already formed.

They exit the car and trudge along to the back of the queue in silence, a measurable amount of space spread between them like a boundary line. Other auditionees attempt conversation with the both of them before opting to individually speak to one or the other or not at all. Harry welcomes the quiet and spends the time before their first interview, attempting to burn holes in Louis' stupidly, endearingly, worn out shoes with his eyes. It doesn't work and they have to squish onto two very closely placed stools for their interview. 

"Just go ahead and introduce yourselves, where you're from, and things like that," the woman behind the camera instructs.

Clearing his throat, Louis casts a nervous glance at Harry that Harry pointedly ignores before speaking, "I'm Louis Tomlinson and this is my boyfriend Harry Styles. I'm twenty-one and he's nineteen. We both live in London."

"I work in a bookstore on most days and he's a student," Harry moves away a little when Louis attempts to move closer to him. "This was his awful idea."

Louis coughs uncomfortably and Harry can feel his blue eyes staring at him. "We were going to audition as solos when I was eighteen and he was sixteen," Louis continues on a little quieter. "But, I met Harry the night before the audition and our futures just sort of changed then," his voice is soft again.

Harry wants to hit him a little bit.

The camera lady frowns at them before allowing them to continue on to where some of the X Factor crew are checking contestants in and handing out numbers. 

"Harry," Louis grabs onto Harry's wrist with both of his hands after their numbers are pinned to their shirts. "Please," he starts as they walk into the backstage area. 

Letting his shoulders relax a little, Harry looks at him fully for the first time since they left his flat. He takes in the uncharacteristically nervous tremble in Louis' grip and the scared way his blue eyes flit over Harry's face like he's searching for something he's worried he won't find. "Great day?" Harry replies gently after a moment.

A weak grin lifts Louis' lips as he nods, "Great day."

After a few long minutes where they stand a little closer and let their fingers lace together, one of the stage managers leads them up the steps to the stage. He hands them microphones before they take nervous breaths and walk out onto the stage together. They offer the audience smiles and Louis squeezes his hand tightly before letting it drop when they reach the middle of the stage. 

"Hello," Louis greets brightly.

The panel of judges nod back at them. Niall Horan, Liam Payne, and Zayn Malik of One Direction, the 2010 cycle winners, make up the beginning of the panel while Simon Cowell finishes it off. 

"Hey!" Niall says, smiling while the rest of the panel merely looks tired. "Go on, introduce yourselves."

Harry sucks in a breath before lifting his microphone, "I'm Harry Styles."

"And I'm Louis Tomlinson," Louis says from beside him. 

"Are you brothers then? Mates?" Simon asks, looking up from the papers in front of him. His glasses sit on the bridge of his nose.

A little laugh escapes Louis' lips as he shakes his head and Harry watches him for a moment. "Boyfriends," he smiles a little easier, looking from Harry to the panel and the audience. "We kiss and things like that."

"Boyfriends," Zayn repeats, leaning back in his seat. "How long have you been together?"

"More importantly, what makes you think that you two have the X Factor?" Liam questions from beside him.

Straightening his posture a little, Harry clears his throat, "About three years."

"We could show you why better than tell you," Louis tacks on, rocking back on his heels. 

The audience cheers for them a bit before Simon continues, "What will you be singing then, boys?"

"Ah, we're going to be singing  _Through the Dark_ by, um," Harry gestures vaguely to the three boys on the panel and Louis laughs quietly at him. 

To say that the boys looked even remotely thrilled would be to lie horribly. "We've heard that one quite a bit today," Zayn groans quietly, his voice just barely audible with how he covers his microphone with his hand. 

"Go on!" Niall leans on the panel table and grins at them, he looks a little tired now too.

Harry shifts nervously, glancing at Louis again, more unsure than he was when they arrived. From what he can tell though, Louis just looks distracted, his freehand tucked into the pocket of his blazer. 

"Ready, babe?" he askes quietly with his microphone held away from his mouth as the beginning of the song starts to play.

"Yeah," Harry answers, rolling his shoulders in an attempt to release some of the gathered tension.

Louis nods a little and smiles softly at him, " _You tell me that you're sad and lost your way. You tell me that your tears are here to stay but I know, you're only hiding. I just wanna see ya."_

" _You tell me that you're hurt and you're in pain,"_ Harry continues singing when Louis stops, following the blues of his eyes like a lifeline as he walks around to Louis' other side, his fingertips grazing Louis' wrist as he passes. " _I can see your head shake but I just wanna see you smile again, see you smile again."_ _  
_

" _But don't burn out, even if you scream and shout. It will come back to you,"_ Louis sings from behind him. " _And I'll be here for you."_

Harry stares out at the audience and at the judges panel, fear curling in his chest and his veins. Everything feels heavy and he hasn't done this in so long, he should have told Louis no, should have made Louis take him home when he was angry enough to not care about letting Louis down. He lifts his microphone to his mouth again as he just barely sees Louis come into his peripheral vision, his slightly proximity warming. Harry turns to face him just as Louis gets down on one knee. " _Oh, I will..."_ Harry stutters to a stop.

With a smile Louis looks up at him, a little black box open in his hand. " _Oh, I will carry you over fire and water for your love,"_ he sings. " _And I will hold you closer, hope your heart is strong enough,"_ he tilts his head expectantly.

A tiny bit of Harry, the still functioning part, must nod and the barely functioning part considers hitting Louis as Louis slips the little black band onto his ring finger. 

" _When the night is coming down, we will find a way through the dark,"_ Louis finishes as the music cuts out and he stands.

"Louis," Harry says quietly, looking from the ring to Louis' face in confusion and surprise and he might not really be sure what the warm feeling in his chest is.

Cheers fill the arena from the audience and when the boys look over, the three, younger judges are standing as well, offering claps and smiles. 

"Had to ask your mum. That's where I was yesterday," Louis tells him quietly, leaning up on his tiptoes to press a kiss to one of his dimples.

"Well, did he say yes?" Niall questions loudly, his palms pressed flat to the surface of the panel.

Harry nods meekly and he might be staring too long at the freckles on Louis' cheeks or at the curl of his eyelashes but the frustration from earlier in the day feels so distant and wrong.

"Five yes' for Mr. Tomlinson then, and four for you, Mr. Styles," Simon says from his seat -- Louis will tell Harry later that even the great Cowell was grinning a little.

Louis wraps his arms tightly around Harry's neck when they're backstage again, letting out a little huff of laughter against Harry's neck. "See? Great day, yeah?" he offers a little uncertainly.

"Great day," Harry repeats and he's so, so gone for this boy, this boy that he might not have met had he auditioned by himself years ago.


End file.
